Daily Links May 27

The recently rehabilitated plane-flying property buying ex-Minister for Health Sussan Ley, accountant and numerologist (hence the extra ‘S’ in her first name), is Minister for the Environment. Trevor Evans, economist and ex-ACCC and ex-CEO of the National Retail Association, is Assistant Minister for Waste Reducation and Environmental Management. Gus Taylor, economist, is Minister for Energy with responsibility for emissions reduction. No greenies in this lot and the jury is out.

The only way to resolve intractable conflicts is to overcome desire to talk to allies more often than opponents. Here, a social psychologist, two ecologists and a cartoonist explain the toolbox of communication we need to resolve difficult issues.

South Africa’s long-delayed carbon tax has been enshrined in law, the treasury says, as one of the continent’s worst polluters transitions to lower emissions in its efforts to meet agreements on global climate change.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to unveil his climate change plan any day now, and he’s under increasing pressure from environmentalists who want him to take a strong position against fossil fuels.

As a climate scientist, I often hear statements like it is blasphemous to think humankind can alter weather or climate. I quickly point out air pollution, destruction of the Ozone Hole by chemical products, urban heat islands, and so on.

Rooftop solar industry veterans say Australia has become a dumping ground for poor-quality solar products and some are questioning the regulatory oversight of household rooftop solar installers and products.

Climate change threatens Australia in many different ways, and can devastate rural and urban communities alike. For Torres Strait Islanders, it’s a crisis that’s washing away their homes, infrastructure and even cemeteries.

UK-based charity the Eden Project has released its vision for a disused coal mine near Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. They plan to transform it into a $150 million eco-tourism attraction — a celebration of the natural environment on what is now a barren site.

Australia’s first driverless train network took off in Sydney today, but cheers turned to frowns as the doors failed to open at one point and the driverless train overshot the platform a couple of times, causing delays.

Amid “horrific” events including mass fish kills and the ongoing drought, residents of Menindee in outback NSW relax at a festival and hope it will be the first of many positive things to draw tourists back to the region.

Brisbane buses will follow trains underground at Roma Street Station as the government forges ahead with Cross River Rail plans, without the federal help it hoped to get from a Shorten Labor government.

It would be a sensible and fair measure for the Queensland government to fix the law so the Adani Group’s track record is properly scrutinised. Currently there has been no accountability for their past actions and no proper scrutiny of their suitability to operate in Queensland.

Scientists at the University of Tasmania have discovered a new method to separate plastic from the stomachs of seabirds that suggests the consumption levels and impacts previously reported have been underestimated.

It’s a common sight on Australia’s country roads: a kangaroo carcass dragged to the verge after being hit by a car. But a wildlife carer is concerned drivers don’t know what to do with injured wildlife.

Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart could hand over tens of thousands of hectares of pastoral land in the Fitzroy Valley to the State Government so it can develop a national park, as part of a $285 million plan to supercharge growth in the Kimberley cattle industry and create hundreds of jobs in the region.

The only way to resolve intractable conflicts is to overcome desire to talk to allies more often than opponents. Here, a social psychologist, two ecologists and a cartoonist explain the toolbox of communication we need to resolve difficult issues.

If democracy in Australia, Europe and America seems a little unhinged at the moment, could it be because irrationality is coded into the DNA of Western civilisation? Quite possibly, according to one philosopher — and technology alone won’t save us.